May the green force be with you

If I were a teacher I would be very excited about this new online green education resource. The George Lucas Educational Foundation recently launched "Go Green Database" on Edutopia.org. The database features Green projects, lesson plans, service-learning opportunities and other resources that can be searched in many ways—by topic, grade level, cost and location. The database also allows users to add, rate and comment on or upload their own resources. Teachers, check it out!

Step It Up 2007

We have 19 days and counting until we Step It Up and demand real leadership on global warming. If you haven't already signed up yet please take a second to visit the website and do so. If you are not sure if you should attend, watch this video trailer of Everything's Cool featuring Step It Up! The actions, the rallies, the signs and the thousands of people who spoke up at the first Step It Up Day in April is really inspiring. Lets make November 3rd even better!

Going Green $10,000 Challenge

I just learned about a Green invention contest for kids sponsored by the website By Kids for Kids (BKFK) and the Weather Channel. Here's the low down if your are interested:

BKFK Launches the "Going Green Challenge" with $10,000 Grand Prize

America's "Green Teens" Challenged to Create New Eco Products and Services to Save the Environment"

STAMFORD, CT - October 2, 2007 - By Kids for Kids (BKFK) today announced the "Going Green Challenge," designed to stimulate the creation of new products or services that could help the global environmental crisis. With an unprecedented $10,000 grand prize, the "Going Green Challenges" seeks solutions to some of our most pressing environmental issues, including; global warming, drought, famine and flooding. The Going Green Challenge is sponsored by The Weather Channel.

Green Teens already in action proving that young people can make a difference include: Smitha Ramakrishna, 15, was one of ten chosen in the nation for the President's Environmental Youth Award, given by the EPA. She was recognized for a special project that helped deliver clean water to the world. Victor Nashan, 16, of Tanzania, East Africa, raises environmental consciousness through using creative methods like songs, poems, art and games. And Gabriela McCall, 17, initiated a project to raise public awareness about birds and the importance of preserving their habitat in Puerto Rico.

The Going Green Challenge officially runs from October 1 – December 31st. All youth under the age of 19 are eligible to participate. Participants can create and invent new methods to improve air quality, alternative energy, forest reclamation, irrigation, land preservation, recycling systems, water purity and more. All entries must be received via the newly revamped BKFK website, www.bkfk.com.

Sounds pretty cool, let me know if you decide to enter!

Step it up 2007 – Who's a leader?

That's the question the thousands of people will be asking in cities and towns across the country on November 3rd. Step it Up Day was launched on April 14th as a citizen's movement to fight climate change. In all 50 states, at more than 1400 iconic places across the nation, americans called on their leaders to act immediately to stop global warming by boldly stating: "Step It Up Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050."




On November 3rd the Green Guide for Kids will join with thousands of others across the country in calling on our politicians and candidates to take steps to meet the goal set on April 14th. We will gather at Grand Army Plaza and work together to create a banner that will ask politicians and candidates: Who Is A Leader? A photograph taken of all participants with the banner will be sent to Congress and candidates running for president one year to the date before the federal elections. Local and federal politicians will be invited to this event! I encourage you to invite them too...the more we pressure them, the better the chance that they will show up. So be a pest! To sign up and learn more about Step It Up 2007 click here.

If you do not live in the New York area but want to get involved, visit stepitup.com to find or start and action in your area. This is an important opportunity to tell candidates that the fight against global warming is important to us...especially if you are not old enough to tell them with your vote!

Art for the earth

I just learned about a great annual event called The International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment. The competition, which has been held since 1991, is organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE), Bayer and Nikon Corporation. It has had 180,000 entries from children in over 100 countries. This year's theme was Climate Change, and the 1st Prize Global Winner is above.

Click here for more information on how to enter the competition. What a great way to take action and be heard! Also, if you are feeling inspired to create your own art on the environment, you can send it to me and I will display it on this website.

EcoPhones...Recycle and raise money

Here's a great idea that I wish I had come up with: raising money for your school or community organization by collecting and recycling electronics. Instead of walking around your block selling magazines and other junk to your neighbors that they don't want (but buy out of guilt), do them a favor and take their junk off their hands. They will be forever greatful.

75% of old electronics sit in closets and basements all over the country because people don't know how to properly dispose of them. Popularly known as e-waste, old cell phones, dvd players, tv's, computers, dvd's, cameras, etc., are dangerous to the environment because they leak hazardous materials such as cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium or chromium VI and brominated flame retardants into the ground and air. To make matters worse, electronics are made using valuable resources such as precious metals, engineered plastics, glass, and other materials that require energy to manufacture. When electronics are thrown in a landfill, these precious materials are lost and more energy will be required to produce new products from virgin resources.

EcoPhones is an company that has helped 22,000 schools and organizations raise funds by recycling electronics. They pay up $300 per item! For more information visit their website.

Walk, bike, rollerskate or skateboard to school...saving the environment one step at a time

It's that time of year again. The first day of school. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will soon! Are you a little scared? Or really excited? I used to love the walk to school with my friends the first day back. We would leave really early to leave lots of time to discuss all the critical things: who we hoped was in our class, who we dreaded being in our class, and where exactly we would meet on the playground at recess to update eachother on the these topics. It was our way of easing into the long year ahead of us.

There are about 242,000,000 cars driving around the United States. Cars and trucks run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, cars are responsible for 30% of greenhouses gas emissions. Although you may not be old enough to drive, you are old enough to make choices about how you get around. Instead of having mom or dad drive you to school or to practice, walk or ride your bike. Start a club of kids from your neighborhood to walk or bike to school with you. Encourage each other to join in the group everyday. Walking or riding to school is a great chance to hang out with your friends and is much more fun than sitting in a car! So whiz past all the traffic and arrive at school or practice energized and ready to go. For every mile you walk or bike, you will save 1 pound of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere.

To help you with this activity:

–Set a goal with your friends for a certain number of days of walking or biking instead of riding in a car. When you reach your goal, celebrate! Have a party or treat yourselves to your favorite treat.
–Turn this into a classroom activity. Have teachers keep track of car–free days, and compete with other classrooms in your school.
–If you live too far from school to walk or ride a bike, ask your parents or bus driver to drop you off a 1/2 mile from school or home and walk the rest of the way.
–Extra Bonus: Walking and bike riding are great for your health and will help you feel great too!
-Click here for safty tips for riding your bike.

Cool Facts:

-Bicyclists get 2,500 miles per gallon (this takes into consideration the extra kilocalories of food you will eat to give you the energy to pedal that bike.)
-Sidewalks and bike paths require a fraction of land compared to roads.
-According to the Department of Transportation, cars in the US are driven an average of 10,000 miles annually—which means that Americans drive more than a trillion miles every year!